Lights for Liberty is an international vigil event taking place in cities across Canada and the U.S. this Friday.

A vigil has been planned in Vancouver as part of an international protest against U.S. migrant detention centres.

Lights for Liberty is an international event taking place in cities across Canada and the U.S. this Friday.

It is the latest in a number of public demonstrations across North America pushing back against the continuing crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border. Thousands of people — including hundreds of children — have been detained in overcrowded cells as they attempt to cross into the U.S., seeking asylum from poverty and dangerous conditions in parts of Central America.

The delays and backlog in processing asylum claims result from President Donald Trump’s hardline policies and push to crack down on illegal immigration. It has created a situation in which 72-hour border holding facilities are being used to house excessive numbers of people for weeks, leading to squalid conditions.

U.S. Border Patrol now frequently has up to 20,000 people in its custody, when 4,000 is considered maximum capacity. In the first half of 2019, the border patrol apprehended 688,375 people, a 140-per-cent increase over the first half of 2018.

Friday’s vigil in Vancouver will take place at the Robson Street side of the Vancouver Art Gallery and begins at 7 p.m.

A vigil is also taking place in Victoria Friday evening at the B.C. legislature.

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